Religious Participation Among Jail Inmates

1. Religious Participation Among Jail Inmates Marguerite Bryan, Ph.D. Criminal Justice Institute Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, Florida Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Conference in San Diego, CA February 25, 2010

2. Outline • Goal of the research study • Research Literature • Methods • Findings • Discussion • Significance • Problems

3. Goals of the research • What factors are associated with jail inmates’ participation in religious activities? • What implications might these factors have for jail programming?

4. Research Literature Literature in this area is varied and inconclusive • Age, marital status and race are important factors --Older people (Levin and Taylor, 1997) --Married persons --Black inmates are more likely than other inmates to participate (O’Connor, 2005; Levin and Taylor, 1997). B. Gender --Some research show that women participate at higher percentages than men. (O’Connor, 2005). --Other research show no difference between them;

5. Research Literature C. Research suggest that inmate participants in religious activities are motivated to make changes in their lives and are seeking their way in a religious sense (Camp, et al,2006) D. Qualitative research results indicate that inmates participate in religious activities as a means of seeking new meaning to their lives and a sense of peace (Clear, et al)

6. Research Literature E. Dammer has put forth the idea of sincere vs. insincere motivations on the part of inmates getting involved in religious/spiritual pursuits while incarcerated; -- Sincere, such as “to obtain peace of mind, direction and meaning in life, self-esteem, and to change behavior” (Dammer, 2002) -- Insincere, such as to get protection from being harmed by other inmates, or to use religion as a means to socialize with other inmates, to meet female volunteers, to access prison resources such as food, etc.

7. Method DEPENDENT VARIABLE A Engaged in religious activity in the past week Response to the question: "In the past week/Since your admission], have you engaged in any religious activities, such as religious services, private prayer or meditation, or Bible reading or studying?" Yes=1, No=0 62% answered Yes(n=5676)

8. Method DEPENDENT VARIABLE B Joined in religious study since admission Response to the question: "Since your admission to jail on [CURRENT ADMISSION DATE], have you joined or participated ina Bible club or other religious study group (including Muslims)?" Yes=1, No=0 28% answered Yes (n=5677)

9. Method INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Categorical independent 1) Race/Ethnicity : White43%Black39%Hispanic18% 2) Gender:Male71% 3) Ever been shot?35% 4) Enrolled in special education? 16% 5) Ever physically/ sexually abused?26%

10. Method 6) Ever married?40% 7) Serious nonviolent crime offender26% 8) Inmate self-reported substance abuse 68% 9) Employed the month before admission?68% 10)Violent offender25% 11)Visits from family/friends in past month54%

11. Method Continuous covariates& their means 12) # of prior arrests Mean=4.31 13)Time held in jail prior to interview Mean=31--60 days 14) Highest education Mean=High school

12. Method 15) Pre-arrest personal monthly income: Mean=$600– $999/month 16) Age Mean=25--34 yrs old 17) Childhood delinquency scale (0=Low to 9=High) Mean=2

13. Findings Logistic Regression Results

14. CONCLUSIONS The more important, statistically significant findings were that Black inmates were almost 2 times more likely to participate in religious activities in jail than White inmates; Hispanic inmates were 1.5 times more likely than non Hispanics to participate in religious activities; and male inmates were 1.5 times more likely than female inmates to take part in religious activities in jails. The more important, statistically significant findings were that Black inmates were almost 2 times more likely to participate in religious activities in jail than White inmates; Hispanic inmates were 1.5 times more likely than non Hispanics to participate in religious activities; and male inmates were 1.5 times more likely than female inmates to take part in religious activities in jails. The more important, statistically significant findings were that Black inmates were almost 2 times more likely to participate in religious activities in jail than White inmates; Hispanic inmates were 1.5 times more likely than non Hispanics to participate in religious activities; and male inmates were 1.5 times more likely than female inmates to take part in religious activities in jails.

15. Relevant Factors & “Models”

16. THE END. All questions will be answered after the panelists present their research studies. Thanks for coming by.